COVINGTON, Ky. – A major Covington Police Department (CPD) initiative was approved at the Board of Commissioners Meeting Tuesday night.

Assistant Police Chief Lt. Col. Robert Nader presented to Commissioners the Northern Kentucky River Cities Unified Police System (NKRCUPS), an agreement between the City of Covington and the City of Newport which allows officers from each police department to share jurisdictions.

The agreement removes jurisdictional lines between the neighboring river cities in order for officers and investigators to effectively and efficiently address the issue of the unrestricted movement of the criminal element.

“This is a tool for us to work seamlessly with our neighbor city, which we already have a good working relationship, in addressing the drug epidemic and its related crimes,” said Lt. Col. Nader. “The river cities share the same criminals but not jurisdiction. This agreement is a step to fix that.”

NKRCUPS came out of conversations between CPD and the Newport Police Department regarding acting as backup SWAT teams for each other. It became clear that expanding the level of cooperation beyond SWAT would be more beneficial.

The agreement is based on KRS 65.210 et. seq., which allows participating agencies to share jurisdictions, and a similar program already established between cities in central Kentucky called the Bluegrass and Central Kentucky Unified Police Protection System (BACKUPPS).

Also on the agenda were several items related to economic development projects.

An agreement between Covington and the City of Park Hills to conduct a joint development study for the current Gateway Community and Technical College property located off Amsterdam Road was approved. The approximately 18-acre site spans both cities and has views of the Ohio River and downtown Cincinnati and Covington.

The agreement would solicit proposals for a consultant to facilitate a study with the intent of making recommendations and adoption of a development plan for the site by both cities. The cost of the study will be reimbursed by the state.

The Board also approved the hiring of a new Zoning and Development Specialist and part-time Community Development Assistant, filling vacant positions in the City’s Development Department.